Hello! Welcome to Issue #127 of theSocial Work E-News!Thank you for subscribing to receive this e-mail newsletter, which is brought to you by the publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine, SocialWorker.com, SocialWorkJobBank.com, and other social work publications.

Congrats to all 2011 social work graduates on the undergraduate and graduate levels! I wish you all the best as you enter this exciting new phase of your social work career! Thank you to everyone who sent me your graduation photos. Several of these will be featured in the Summer issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER.

In the meantime, the Spring 2011 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER is available NOW!Highlights of the Spring issue include the riddle of good leadership, knowing when to report or not report, clincal work outside of sessions, what to do if you fail the social work exam, tips for new graduates and job searchers, how to use technology appropriately when doing school assignments, book reviews, and more!

If you have not yet done so, you can download this issue (and others) of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine in PDF formatFREEathttp://www.socialworker.com/home/menu/Downloads/. This download page simplifies the download process, so you can download an issue in just one click. Please allow time for the download to complete.

Individual articles from this issue are also available on our Web site in Web format. Just go tohttp://www.socialworker.comand start reading!

Looking ahead to future issues of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, I am seeking articles by social work practitioners, educators, and students on topics of practical interest to students and new social workers. Please contactlinda.grobman@paonline.com.

IT'S ALSO IN PRINT!Don't forget--THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER is now available in a limited print edition. The Winter and Spring 2011 issues, as well as all back issues from 2010 and some from 2009, are available now athttp://newsocialworker.magcloud.com. You can purchase them individually, or purchase all four 2010 issues in one perfect-bound volume. MagCloud also has an iPad app that allows you to view magazines on your iPad and then purchase them directly from the app, if you choose to do so.

You can also go tohttp://www.socialworker.com/home/menu/Subscribe/andsubscribe (free)to receive an e-mail reminder and table of contents of each issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine when it is available. If you are a subscriber to the E-News (which you are reading now!), this does NOT mean that you are automatically subscribed to THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine.They are two different publications!Subscribe to both to get the most advantage.

The Social Work E-News has 28,000+ subscribers, and thousands of social workers (and people interested in social work) visit our Web sites. If you like our Web sites, The New Social Worker, and the Social Work E-News, pleasehelp us spread the word!Tell your friends, students, or colleagues to visit us athttp://www.socialworker.com, where they can download afreePDF copy of the magazine, become one of our almost11,000 fanson Facebook, participate in discussions, and lots more.

If you are a social worker with 2 years or more experience and you work in the United States, you are invited to participate in an online survey that will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. The survey is being conducted by Edna M. Sullivan for her doctoral dissertation titled:A Correlational Study Of Perceived Transformational Leadership Styles and Job Satisfaction Among Social Workers.

Your participation in the study will be completely anonymous and confidential. By clicking the link below, your Internet browser will open to the online survey, where you will be provided with contact information for Edna M. Sullivan, further details about the study, the informed consent letter, and the survey itself. Thank you in advance for your consideration in participating in the study. Please click here:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AVYA.

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NEED BOOKS OR GIFTS?The publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER has some great books that make great gifts for yourself or someone else. Give the gift ofDays in the Lives of Social Workersor our other social work and nonprofit management titles.

Of special interest is ourNEWESTsocial work book:IS IT ETHICAL? 101 SCENARIOS IN EVERYDAY SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE: A DISCUSSION WORKBOOK,by Thomas Horn, MSW, RSW. This small book asks some big questions about situations social workers face every day. It is a great tool for students or for more seasoned social workers.

Let a social worker know you care with social work notecards.The front of the card says: “Social Work! An Awesome Profession.” The inside of the card is blank, so you can write your own note.Congratulate a new grad, thank a field instructor, send a gift to your favorite social worker, or wish someone a happy holiday or special occasion.Available in packages of 10 cards (including envelopes) for $10.

All of our books and products are available through our secure online store at:

**Get your textbooks!** Support The New Social Worker while you shop. Follow this link to Amazon.com for all your textbook and supply needs. Join Amazon Student and get free shipping.

Job Corner

Associate Director for PROS Program - Brooklyn

Licensed Social Worker (LMSW required, LCSW preferred) or Licensed Psychologist with a minimum of three years of professional mental health experience (depending on program size and complexity), including at least one year in an administrative or supervisory capacity. Experience or trainings in Wellness Self-Management, Family Psycho-Education, and Motivational Interviewing is preferred. E-mail tohr@iclinc.net

If you or your agency arehiring social workers,don’t forget to post your jobs on SocialWorkJobBank.com. Please check the SocialWorkJobBank “products/pricing” page athttp://jobs.socialworkjobbank.com/r/jobs/post/index.cfm?site_id=122for job posting options and SPECIAL offers. Our audience of professional social workers is active and engaged in the job search, receiving more than 440,000 e-mail job alerts last year and actively applying to open positions. Your jobs will gain additional exposure to our social networks on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.Also, please note that SocialWorkJobBank.com is now part of the Nonprofit Job Board Network. You can post your job to SocialWorkJobBank and get exposure on other network sites for a reasonable additional fee.

Job seeker services are FREE—including searching current job openings, posting your confidential résumé/profile, and receiving e-mail job alerts. Please let employers know that you saw their listings in the SOCIAL WORK E-NEWS and at SocialWorkJobBank.com.

There are 1,071 jobs currently posted on SocialWorkJobBank.com. Check it out today.

Features

A New MSW Graduate? 14 Ways to Stand Out in the Crowd

byNatasha Nalls, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, CAP

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from an article from the current (Spring 2011) issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER. Read the full article at:

A job is easy. A career takes time. As a social worker, you want a career. I graduated with my MSW in 2007. I'm still at the very beginning of my career. Here are some things you can do to launch, maximize, and promote your social work career TODAY.

***WARNING: Only the ambitious graduate need read on!***

1. Join, participate, and assume leadership in a professional organization.

NASW is the largest national professional social work organization. Each state has a chapter, and each chapter is divided into local units. Join your local unit! Chair a sub-committee, volunteer to be a liaison for your agency, or assume a position on the unit’s executive committee. NASW participation keeps you steeped in professional social work issues. Also, there are tons of opportunities for “free training.” For example, by volunteering at the local level, you gain invaluable experience developing your leadership skills by leading advocacy projects, managing relationships, and planning professional events.

2. Network and have social work friends.

Attend professional socials, forge professional relationships with social workers, and have social worker friends. Doing so allows you to “pace” yourself with peers, and gives you broader perspective of the field.

3. Start any long-term processes immediately.

Even registering for licensure in some states may be a multi-tiered process. You may need letters from your university confirming your coursework or field placement. You may also need transcripts and letters from your employer. Also, positions with state or federal agencies may require extended application processes.

4. Find a mentor.

I have a mentor. She has by far been my greatest asset. I met her at an NASW event. Last week, I happened to be at her house. By happenstance, while I was over hanging out, she got a call for some short-term work. She couldn’t take the job. She’s too busy. She recommended me. I was hired and was fast tracked into the position. Let me emphasize: Having a good mentor will open professional doors for you.

5. Maintain affiliation with your school or a local school of social work.

Social work schools tend to lead the local social work community, and there is therefore an inherent symbiotic relationship. Agency heads often teach as adjuncts. Schools also sometimes spearhead professional conferences and forums. Maintain contact with professors and staff, especially those with whom you share similar professional interests.

6. Consider licensure.

It’s not for everyone, but depending on your long-term career plans and interests, licensure may be a long-term asset. If you plan to have a clinical social work career, it would behoove you to become licensed as soon as possible. After you are licensed, there is no requirement for ongoing clinical supervision (although you’ll have continuing education requirements). In addition, licensure allows you to clinically supervise others, which might make you an asset to your agency or allow you to generate income by supervising others privately. P.S. I advise you to take the licensing exam within two years of graduation.

There is still much work to be done in this area, and as social workers, we encounter many LGBT issues, both as clinicians and advocates. According to the NASW Code of Ethics, “Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.” Also, social workers “should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.”

A social worker friend of mine told me recently that she encountered someone who spoke publicly against gay people. Once she introduced this person (a religious leader) to a gay person in his community and facilitated a conversation between the two, he made a decision not to publicly speak against homosexuality in the future. This was not done in her official capacity as a social worker, but it is an example of the way one person can make a huge difference.

Below are some links to Web sites, pages, and articles on various LGBTQ issues to broaden your knowledge and perhaps help your clients or others in your community:

American Basic Economic Security Much Different From “Poverty Line,” UB Researcher Says

A University at Buffalo School of Social Work professor is helping redefine the United States' definition of being poor with research that shows the dramatic difference between achieving"basic economic security" and the federal government's "poverty line."

Yunju Nam, PhD, assistant professor at the UB School of Social Work, is one of three lead authors for research that concluded with the Basic Economic Security Table or BEST Index, a report prepared jointly by Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis, and the UB School of SocialWork.

The BEST report concludes that single workers need more than $30,000 a year for economic security. Single parents with two children need nearly twice the income ($57,756) to cover basic expenses and save for emergencies and retirement, and dual-income households with two children require $67,920.

These figures are well above—sometimes several times—traditional measurements like the poverty line and minimum wage designed to show what workers require for a basic standard of living. The 2010 national poverty level is $10,830 for a single-person family and $18,310 for a family of three.

The report, released April 1, has attracted widespread attention in the mainstream media, including substantial articles or treatments in the New York Times, CBS MoneyWatch, the Today Show, the Atlantic, the Huffington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Many of the articles have concentrated on how low-wage jobs, which are often reported by theU.S. Department of Labor as evidence of employment growth or possibilities, fail to pay enough to meet these basic needs.

The BEST Index is different from the federal poverty measure in that it takes into account actual spending for necessary items (e.g., food, housing, transportation and child care) for a family to meet its basic needs. In contrast, the federal poverty measure is calculated based solely on food cost. Accordingly, BEST captures changing economic needs in a rapidly changing contemporary economy, the researchers say.

The BEST Index also differs from other "economic well-being" indexes in that it aims to capture what is needed for household stability and development rather than focusing on subsistence, Nam explains. Therefore, the BEST Index includes saving components such as emergency savings, retirement savings, education savings, and home ownership savings that are essential for long-term economic security and household development, she points out.

"Meeting basic monthly living expenses alone leaves a family short of genuine financial stability," says Nam. "Workers must develop assets to attain both short-term and lifelong economic security. However, past policy and scholarly discussion on economic well-being measures focused solely on consumption needs. The BEST therefore provide a newperspective on economic needs by showing how much workers need to meet both consumption and saving needs for economic security."

According to the BEST, the amount of savings needed for a family's long-term security is moderate if a family saves regularly for long-term. Emergency savings are a small part of BEST budgets (3-4 percent). Retirement savings of $73 per month per worker or $56 per couple greatly increases the chances of maintaining basic economic security in retirement.

"The problem is many families do not make enough income to meet their basic consumptions and saving needs, especially among single-parent families," according to Yung Soo Lee, one of the lead authors of the BEST at the CSD. "In addition, low saving rates in the United States indicate that even families with enough income do not save enough for their long-term economic security and development."

To solve problems of low income and low saving rate, Nam says policy intervention is essential.

"I believe that the BEST Index is the first step for the policy paradigm change, a shift from focus on consumption to emphasis on long-term economic security and development," she says. "By showing how much a family needs for [its] basic consumption and asset accumulation for long-term development, the BEST sets a new and higher standard for social and economic policy in the United States."

The index is intended for use by policymakers, researchers and policy advocates concerned with national policy needs and with changes in workers' and families' needs over time. The savings components incorporated in the BEST suggest the importance of asset building for household development and stability.

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Upliftment of the Burmese Refugee Community by Students from IIT Delhi

submitted by Parth Sharma

June 20 is World Refugee Day. The Golden land of Burma has always been famous for its rich culture and heritage, but today its virtuousness is under attack. Burma has been entrenched in political and armed conflict between the repressive ruling military regime, political opponents, and ethnic groups, resulting in the displacement of more than 3.5 million people. India, being a neighboring country, hosts a large and growing number of Burmese refugees. In New Delhi, a nearly 10,000-strong community continues to exist in the obscure margins of our lives without anyone taking much notice. Even with Burma attracting international attention and the President of the United States acknowledging the plight of the Burmese community settled in West Delhi, there are very few Delhites, let alone Indians, who know of their existence.

This large number does not afford them any legal protection, leaving them vulnerable to harassment, discrimination, and deportation. India is not a signatory of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which is the cornerstone of UNHCR's work around the world. Hence, the present situation is that the government takes no responsibility as such for these refugees, and the onus is on UNHCR to provide for their sustenance. As a result, the Indian community is almost apathetic to the cause of these refugees, be it matters of protection, health, education, administration, legal, or general social factors. While protection and permanent solutions are long in coming for the Burmese community in Delhi, the wait is made more urgent by untenable living conditions, a lack of adequate and acceptable livelihoods, poor health, an inability for the children to receive an education, and the impossibility of integrating with the local community.

The need of the hour is to help these Burmese refugees feel like respectable human beings in a foreignland, to make them feel at peace, free from the unnecessary hostility and discrimination, and provide them with some opportunity for decent sustenance. Here is where a student group from IIT Delhi believes that they could help make a difference. The 23 member strong student group, SIFE IIT Delhi, aims to play a proactive role in helping the development and economic sustainability of a group of people so far neglected. The group has been working with the community since November 2010, with the support of charter organizations such as UNHCR. As members learned more about the community, they came to understand how each day is a challenge for these refugees. Their continuous struggle to survive in this home away from home made these students dedicate themselves to this cause. Under the banner of Project Aarambh, these students are making a fresh attempt for the cause of overall development of the Burmese refugees.

Their project looks to economically empower these people through sustainable income generation. There are a number of centers within the community that manufacture handicrafts that boast of Burmese skill and culture. However, such centers are far from realizing their true potential, as there is a lack of awareness about the current market scenario in India and the hindrance they face in terms of the language barrier and societal exclusion. These students from IIT Delhi have been working with such women-basedsmall handicraft entrepreneurial units in the refugee community, promoting their traditional arts, marketing their goods such as handbags, laptop bags, purses, woolens, coats, and shawls, and organizing corporate stalls to facilitate their sales. Furthermore, they are facilitating professional support for improved skills, operations, and scalability and have collaborated with DASTKAR, a national organization, for the same.

They have also established a platform for the community called Placement Cell, to create an avenue to help people in the Burmese community who are in need of a job. The cell works as a 2-way forum, an interface between the people and the factories and shops that have job vacancies. The objective is to ensure just, sustainable, fair pay work for the refugees while ensuring regularity and consistency for the employers. Their initiatives in this end have included interventions with nearby workshops seeking fair employment opportunities, matching job requirements with skills and conducting training sessions and workshops for the refugees, enabling them to blend into the new work culture.

Besides all this, their efforts have included initiatives for holistic development. These students realize that it is of paramount importance to help the refugees integrate and communicate with the Indian society at large and to sensitize the Indian society by making them aware of the plethora of problems faced by the Burmese community and the main reason as to why they seek asylum here. Theirengagements have included college outreach programs such as in St. Stephen’s College and community initiatives such as Health Camps.

These young students from IIT Delhi have a long-term vision with respect to their engagement with the Burmese refugee community. They are aware of the political, social, and cultural dilemmas in helping a foreign refugee community, and their efforts are only meant to make the lives of these refugees a little more humane and meaningful. They feel that these refugees carry in their hearts the Burma they fled and the hope to return. It is their culture that these students want the world to see. It is their spirit that they salute. It is their story that they want the world to hear.

SIFE (Student in Free Enterprisewww.sife.org) is an international nonprofit organization that aims to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities and become socially responsible business leaders. SIFE IIT Delhi (www.sifeiitd.org) is the student chapter of SIFE in the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Established in July 2010, it is comprised of a team of 23 students working under faculty supervision.

Connect with other social workers online! THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine and the National Association of Social Workers have teamed up with the Social Work Forum to bring you SocialWorkChat.org, an online community of social workers offering twice-weekly online real-time chats on a variety of topics. The chats are held onSundayandTuesdaynightsat 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Susan Mankita is the manager of SocialWorkChat.org.

Registration is free! Chats are at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and will last about an hour. Check regularly for chat topics or sign up for e-mail reminders.

Go tohttp://www.socialworkchat.orgto register and participate in the chats and other features of the site.NOTE: SocialWorkChat.org has been experiencing technical difficulties. We will report here when the site is up and running again.

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15% Discount Available on Continuing Education

YOU DESERVE CREDIT! Now you can get it. Keep up with your profession (and get credit for it) with THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER.

THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER’s Web site athttp://www.socialworker.comincludes the full text of many articles from past issues of the magazine. The current issue is featured on the site’s main page. Past issues can be found under “Magazine Issues” in the right column of the page. For selected full-text articles from issues prior to Spring 2006, click on “Feature Articles Archive” on the left side of the page. The magazine is also available for FREE download in PDF format.

Our online discussion forum/message board is a place for open discussion of a variety of social work-related issues. Join in our discussion athttp://www.socialworker.com(click on the “Forum” link).

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JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK VALUES AND ETHICS SPRING ISSUE AVAILABLE!

The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics is a free, online, peer-reviewed journal published by the publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER. It is published twice a year, in full text, online at:http://www.socialworker.com/jswve

Go to the journal Web site athttp://www.socialworker.com/jswveto read this and other available issues. You can also sign up for a free subscription, and you will be notified by e-mail when each issue is available online.

CE credits for the Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics are offered in cooperation with CE-Credit.com.New pricing!The basic price per credit hour is $6.97.Buying course credits in multiple-credit packages can give you a significant savings.To see a complete listing of the 800+ courses that CE-Credit.com offers, go to: http://www.socialworker.com/cecredit.html

White Hat Communications, publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine and the Social Work E-News, has published several books about social work. These books make great gifts (for graduation or other occasions) for yourself, or for your friends, students, and colleagues in social work!

Briefly, those currently in print are:

DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS: 54 Professionals Tell Real-Life Stories From Social Work Practice (3rd Edition), edited by Linda May Grobman

MORE DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS:35 Real-Life Stories of Advocacy, Outreach, and Other Intriguing Roles in Social Work Practice, edited by Linda May Grobman

DAYS IN THE LIVES OF GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIAL WORKERS: 44 Professionals Tell Stories From Real-Life Social Work Practice With Older Adults, edited by Linda May Grobman and Dara Bergel Bourassa.

IS IT ETHICAL? 101 SCENARIOS IN EVERYDAY SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE: A DISCUSSION WORKBOOK, by Thomas Horn

THE FIELD PLACEMENT SURVIVAL GUIDE: What You Need to Know to Get the Most From Your Social Work Practicum (2nd Edition), edited by Linda May Grobman

We also publish books on nonprofit management. Want to start your own agency? Check out THE NONPROFIT HANDBOOK: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run Your Nonprofit Organization (5th Edition), by Gary M. Grobman.

HOW TO ORDER

All of our books are available through our new secure online store at:

Your subscription e-mail address will only be used to deliver this e-newsletter and to occasionally inform you of updates from its publisher. Your e-mail address will not be given to anyone else or used for any other purpose as a result of your subscription to this newsletter.

Copyright 2011 White Hat Communications. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this entire newsletter, with all information intact, by e-mail to social work colleagues, students, and others interested in social work, for personal use only. You may also print out this newsletter for personal use. All other uses of this material require permission from the publisher at: linda.grobman@paonline.com

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